Morning Coffee
I’m down to my last spoonful of instant coffee and have some departure delays today. Since the provisions hadn’t arrived and I stayed aboard most of the time, I didn’t have a chance to do my laundry and pick up some other items. I’ve delayed my departure by one day. Once I finish up my office work, I’ll walk the 30 minutes to Carrefour and cancel my order, then go to another grocery store and shop there. That might take a couple of trips since they don’t deliver. And even if they did, I’d most likely not avail myself of their services due to trust issues.
Lunch
I gave up trying to contact Carrefour and used my lunch break to walk there and see if I could sort out the problem. On the way there, I caught up with Antoine, who had helped me enormously in sorting out the diesel leak and other things.
Once at Carrefour, I saw a big guy standing at the door who I assumed was security, but I now believe he was management. I asked about the delivery process. and when I told him that I’d been waiting for days and nobody answered calls, emails, or text messages, he took me to two ladies who were stocking the shelves.
Carrefour
They told me that I must have neglected to specify a delivery date and time, even though I’d written “tout de suite” (immediately) and that someone would be aboard at all times. Rather than admitting they’d messed up, they went away with my order number to check up on it.
Upon returning, they asked when I’d like the items delivered. I explained what I meant by “immediately,”- meaning now. I’d already extended my stay by one day because the provisions hadn’t arrived. I was told to come back in 30 minutes, and they’d have the items ready and would drive both my purchases and me back to the marina.
I returned in 30 minutes (the hardware store I wanted to visit was closed for lunch, anyway), and then I waited another half hour before they came out with my items. Some substitutions had been made, but that didn’t bother me.
It took 2 hours, but now I’ve got French cheeses and food to tide me over the rough gustatory times ahead in Antigua. And 30L of water, plus some Lorraine beer.
Evening
I packed my suitcase with all my dirty clothes and proceeded to the laundromat located close to the main marina. Luckily, it’s a wheeled suitcase. After feeding the biggest available washer with my soiled items, I set the stopwatch for 40 minutes and walked across the road to the main marina. And had a happy-hour drink. I nursed it for the full 40 minutes and returned just as the final spin cycle finished. To speed up the drying process, I split the load into two dryers and feed in more money. This cycle takes 30 minutes, and I walked to Ti Toques and sat down there for appetizers. I returned, folded my dried and cleaned clothes, and returned to dinner with my suitcase.